Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect of the Government's limit on carbon dioxide emissions from aviation on lifeline flights in  (a) Scotland and  (b) the UK;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of any future breach of the Government's target for airline emissions on the future of  (a) lifeline flights and  (b) airports serving lifeline flights.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 25 February 2009
	In January this year, the Government announced a new target to get UK aviation carbon dioxide emissions in 2050 below 2005 levels and asked the Committee on Climate Change to advise on the best basis for its development. The Committee is due to report by December 2009. The Committee's advice will inform the Government's approach in ensuring achievement of the target. In developing this approach, the Government will take into account a range of different factors.
	The Government recognise the important economic and social benefits that lifeline air services can bring to remote areas of the UK and continues to support the measures consistent with EU law that help sustain such services in Scotland and Wales.

Driving Standards Agency: Alcoholic Drinks

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1385W, on the Driving Standards Agency: alcoholic drinks, on how many other occasions in 2008 the Driving Standards Agency purchased alcohol for other conferences and management meetings.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driving Standards Agency has paid for wine served before and during dinner at three other conferences for different grades of managers held in May and June 2008 on a similar basis to the September event. The conferences involved people staying away from their homes overnight and working in their own time.

Lorries: Working Hours

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department takes to monitor the compliance of haulage firms with the EU Working Time Directive; and what guidance his Department issues on the definition of a driver's  (a) working time and  (b) period of availability for the purposes of the Directive.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) monitors compliance with European Directive 2002/15/EC on the working time of mobile workers, by examining working time records when undertaking visits to operator bases, and by responding to any complaints made by employees about working time.
	The Department has published guidance on the implementing GB regulations. This guidance defines working time as the time from the beginning of work, during which the mobile worker is at the workstation at the disposal of the employer and exercising his or her functions or activities.
	The guidance defines a period of availability (PoA) as waiting time, the duration of which is known about in advance by the mobile worker.
	A full description of what functions/activities are included in the definition of working time, along with examples of what does and does not constitute a PoA can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road/workingtime/rdtransportworkingtimeguidance

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has the Wright Inquiry has spent on  (a) information technology and  (b) information technology consultants.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Billy Wright Inquiry that the Inquiry has spent £5.50 million on information technology and £611,000 on IT consultants to the end of January 2009.

Carbon Emissions: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 429W, on carbon emissions: finance, if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent accounts of each of the three bodies.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The Carbon Trust and The Energy Saving Trust are independent private companies limited by guarantee, and, as such, their accounts are a matter of public record and accessible at Companies House. Summaries are available on the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust's websites at:
	www.carbontrust.co.uk/'Publications/publicationdetail.htm?productid=CTC735&metaNoCache=1
	and
	www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/corporate/Global-Data/Publications/Annual-Review-2007-2008
	Their accounts are not routinely placed in the Library of the House.
	Envirowise is a service to business providing free and independent advice on how to make cost savings from improved resource efficiency. It is delivered under contract for DEFRA by AEA Technology which publishes its annual financial statement on its
	website at:
	www.aeatannualreport.com/

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East of 21 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 161-62W, on departmental air travel, when he plans to place in the Library a copy of the figures for the financial year 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, 2007-08 air travel mileage figures available currently for all Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) participants are as follows:
	
		
			  Participant  Domestic miles  Short-haul miles  Long-haul miles  Total miles 
			 DFID 2,442,620 3,925,809 42,143,843 48,512,272 
			 MOD 1,482,742 8,013,589 34,520,713 44,017,044 
			 Red Arrows TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 HMRC 13,803,977 1,885,521 2,435,769 18,125,267 
			 VOA 67,078 6,180 32,297 105,554 
			 BERR 1,850,032 2,798,771 11,157,261 15,806,064 
			 HO 3,096,510 1,616,014 3,956,040 8,668,564 
			 IPS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 CRB TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 PS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 FSS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 DWP 7,825,984 650,331 867,756 9,344,071 
			 HMT 1,568,881 249,645 916,195 2,734,720 
			 DEFRA 3,612,104 2,486,524 5,204,594 11,303,222 
			 CEFAS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 DCMS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 DH 413,688 576,208 1,456,328 2,446,224 
			 CO 183,400 7,400,286 2,466,762 10,050,448 
			 No.10 TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 DfT 693,997 821,311 1,939,471 3,454,778 
			 RH TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 GCDA TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 DCLG 98,617 297,057 195,831 591,505 
			 DfES TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 LOD 63,425 395,429 1,053,994 1,512,848 
			 CPS (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 SFO (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 RCPO (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 AGO (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 HMCPSI (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 Tsol (LOD) TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 NIO 1,992,239 60,536 160,637 2,213,412 
			 MOJ TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 TLR 13,842 25,650 99,170 138,663 
			 TTBC 27,958 49,171 222,404 299,532 
			 ECGD TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 Parl HC 1,049,576 1,072,394 2,674,252 4,796,222 
			 BAPG TBC TBC 121,271 121,271 
			 Parl HL 177,949 249,940 419,955 847,844 
			 TRS 9,180 0 0 9,180 
			 GLA TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 MPS TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 TfL 54,569 690,967 1,458,757 2,204,293 
			 LDA TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			 SDC TBC TBC TBC TBC 
			  Note: As the deadline for returns is 30 April 2009, the abbreviation TBC used is to signify where finalised returns are yet to be confirmed/supplied.

Hazardous Substances: Waste Disposal

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which sites in England deal with hazardous waste; what the distance is between each site and the nearest unit of housing; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 January 2009
	There are about 1,300 sites permitted to store hazardous wastes, including asbestos, some batteries, television sets and fluorescent tubes. These permitted sites consist of approximately; 740 hazardous waste transfer stations; 370 hazardous waste treatment facilities; 31 hazardous waste incinerators including clinical waste incinerators; 33 in-house hazardous waste storage facilities; 102 hazardous waste landfill sites (30 of which are in the process of closing); and 68 pet crematoria.
	Lists of the sites have been placed in the Library of the House. The lists record the distance of each site from human occupation. Postcode specific searches for this information can be obtained on a case by case basis via the Environment Agency's website. Information on some of the sites is not available as it is not held or the site is new.

British-French Nuclear Forum

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  on what date the Franco-British Nuclear Forum last met;
	(2)  on what date a Minister last attended a meeting of the Franco-British Nuclear Forum;
	(3)  how much has been paid from the public purse to the Franco-British Nuclear Forum in each year since its inception.

Mike O'Brien: The last meeting of the Franco-British Nuclear Forum to be attended by a Minister was held on 29 March 2007 and attended by the then Energy Minister. This is also the date that the forum last met.
	The total cost to the public purse of the Franco British Nuclear Forum in each year since its inception is £33,400, all of which was incurred in financial year 2006-07.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on the facilitation of carbon capture and storage in  (a) each year since 1997 and  (b) 2008-09 to date; and what estimate he has made of equivalent expenditure in the next six years.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 23 February 2009
	 In the period 1997-2005, the then Department for Trade and Industry supported industrially led research and development through the Clean Coal Programme, spend as follows. It has not been possible to provide separate figures for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects for this period.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 3.1 
			 1998-99 2.9 
			 1999-2000 2.5 
			 2000-01 4.3 
			 2001-02 4.4 
			 2002-03 3 
			 2003-04 5 
			 2004-05 6.5 
		
	
	Since 2005, funding for industrially led R and D has been the responsibility of the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills' Technology Strategy Board.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) provides support for demonstration of components for CCS and pilot scale CCS through the Carbon Abatement Technologies Demonstration Programme now supported via the Environmental Transformation Fund. Since the programme was launched in October 2006 it has spent:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0.1 
			 2007-08 0.1 
			 2008-09 to date 0.3 
		
	
	A further joint call, worth some £15million, under this programme was announced on 12 February 2009, with the TSB and Northern Way.
	In addition the DECC is supporting a full scale CCS demonstration project to be operational by 2014. Given the unique nature of the UK's CCS project it is difficult to provide a definitive assessment of costs. It is also the case that the final cost may vary significantly according to the design of the winning project. We expect to develop a much clearer picture of both capital and operating costs during the competition process as we undertake detailed negotiations with the three pre-qualified bidders.
	As a new Department an estimate of spend for future years cannot be given. The annual budgets for DECC for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 have been agreed with HM Treasury and DECC is currently allocating these budgets to its different responsibilities through a business planning process.
	DECC also undertakes a number of other activities that will facilitate the introduction of CCS. An example is the Energy Act 2008 which sets the framework for offshore storage of CO2.

Climate Change: EU Action

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on taking into account energy and climate change-related threats in the European Security Strategy.

Mike O'Brien: Energy security and climate change are among key threats and global challenges that were identified in the EU High Representative/Secretary General's report on the implementation of the 2003 European security strategy which was endorsed by the December 2008 European Council. The UK Government outlined their position on the threat of climate change in the March 2008 national security strategy and, reflecting its importance in traditional security policy, has taken a lead in pushing climate change to the top of the international debate about security. The Government also pressed to ensure that Javier Solana's report included energy security as a key theme.
	My right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has regular discussions with EU counterparts on these issues, mainly in the context of the EU Energy and Environment Councils.

Departmental Internet

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change by what date he expects his Departmental website to achieve the full  (a) content and  (b) functionality planned.

Mike O'Brien: The Department's new website will go live by the end of February 2009, including all functionality and content that has so far been planned. More content will be added subsequent to this date. The Department will continue to hold detailed policy information on the energy and climate change sections of the websites of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs respectively, pending a full content audit to be undertaken later this year.

Departmental Public Consultation

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consultations relating to energy and climate change were initiated by his Department's predecessors between 5 May 2005 and 6 October 2008.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 23 February 2009
	 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has records on consultations relating to energy and climate change undertaken from August 2006. A total of 32 consultations were carried in the period of August 2006 to 6 October 2008. Details are set out as follows and include consultations relating to waste, which has links to energy and climate change.
	Consultation on EU Energy Using Products Directive transposing into legislation.
	New regulation on ecodesign requirements for energy using products.
	Consultation on measures to reduce carbon emissions in large non-energy intensive business and public sector organisations.
	Joint Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Department of Trade and Industry consultation on energy metering and billing.
	Consultation on the energy, cost and carbon saving calculations for the draft Energy Efficiency Commitment 2008-11 illustrative mix: Energy Efficiency Commitment 2008-11.
	Consultation on the Draft Climate Change Bill.
	Consultation on the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
	Consultation on Energy Services Directive.
	Consultation on Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.
	Consultation on "Recycle on the Go".
	Consultation on packaging targets.
	Consultation on Energy Services Directive Article 5.
	Consultation on Climate Change Simplification plan.
	Consultation on changes to packaging regulations.
	Consultation on proposals for regulations to amend the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 to include further licensing exemptions for agricultural waste.
	Consultation on 'Local authority environmental regulation of industrial plant: 2007/08 risk based fees and charges'.
	Consultation on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on waste.
	Consultation on the amendment of the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000.
	Consultation on EU Emission Trading Scheme.
	Consultation on establishing a voluntary code of best practice for the provision of carbon offsetting to UK customers.
	Consultation on the EU Commission's proposals to amend the EU ETS from 2013.
	Consultation on Aviation and EU ETS.
	Consultation on carbon accounting regulations.
	Consultation on review of waste exemptions.
	Consultation on the operation of the National Emission Reduction Plan under the Large Combustion Plants Directive.
	Waste strategy for England 2007: Incentives for Recycling by Households.
	Consultation on Carbon Emissions Reduction Target April to March 2011.
	Consultation on proposals for offences and penalties and enforcement in relation to EC Regulation 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases/proposals for amendments to the Environmental Protection (Controls on Ozone-Depleting Substances) Regulations SI 2002 No. 528
	Consultation on auction design for Phase Two of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	Consultation on fluorinated gases and ozone.
	Consultation on the European Commission's proposed Directive on Industrial Emissions (IPPC) (recast).
	Consultation on Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007; Directive 2004/12/EC (amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste).

Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the effect of the economic downturn on the future development of an infrastructure for energy.

Mike O'Brien: While large energy companies continue to be able to access the capital markets for investment purposes, some smaller energy firms have found debt financing harder to come by due in current financial conditions, potentially leading to postponement and delay in some investments. The Government are working closely with such companies to ensure that they make the best of the financing opportunities available to them while these firms may also be eligible for the Government's recently-announced schemes to restore the flow of credit to businesses (Working Capital Scheme, Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and the Capital for Enterprise Fund).
	Along with the regulator OFGEM, the Government are closely monitoring the effects of the credit crunch on the energy sector, particularly on investment plans.

Energy: Meters

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households had  (a) gas and  (b) electricity pre-payment meters in each of the last 10 years.

Mike O'Brien: The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) monitors, and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers. From 1998 to 2007, the last period for which data has been published, the number of customers using prepayment meters is:
	
		
			  million 
			   Gas  Electricity 
			 1998 1.4 3.7 
			 1999 1.6 3.7 
			 2000 1.8 3.5 
			 2001 1.8 3.8 
			 2002 2.0 3.7 
			 2003 2.0 3.7 
			 2004 2.1 3.6 
			 2005 2.2 3.6 
			 2006 2.3 3.6 
			 2007 2.3 3.6

Energy: Prices

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to improve the system of pricing for pre-payment fuel meter customers.

Mike O'Brien: Ofgem, the independent regulator, has investigated the charges for different payment methods made by supply companies as part of their recent probe into retail gas and electricity markets. It is now consulting publicly on remedies to prevent energy supply companies from charging unjustified premiums for payment methods such as pre-payment meters. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already told the House that should a satisfactory and timely resolution of this issue not be reached by Ofgem and the companies, he is prepared to legislate.

Energy: Prices

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1372W, on energy: prices, when he expects Ofgem to publish its first quarterly report on wholesale and retail prices.

Mike O'Brien: We expect Ofgem to report during February.

Energy: Supply

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to encourage the diversification of energy supply routes.

Mike O'Brien: The UK sees diversity of both sources and routes of gas as vital for the EU's security of supply. Recent events have underlined the importance to the EU of being supplied with gas from a wide range of countries. The development of a southern corridor, with the aim of bringing gas through Turkey to the EU from the Caspian region, and in the longer term from the Middle East, is crucial to that end . The UK therefore strongly supports the efforts of the European Commission and fellow EU member states to develop a southern corridor and is actively engaged in these efforts.
	The Commission's second Strategic Energy Review (SEER2) of November 2008 affirmed the importance of a southern corridor as one of the EU's highest energy priorities and the importance, to that end, of increasing high level political engagement with potential gas supplier countries, such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq.
	The European Commission and current Czech presidency of the EU have already signalled their intention to make this a priority for 2009 and we shall be working closely with them.
	The UK also sees it as important for there to be a diverse selection of routes for gas to enter the EU and for this reason we support the building of new pipelines, under market conditions, to bring gas from established suppliers to the EU such as Norway, Russia and Algeria. In addition to pipelines, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), imported by tanker from countries such as Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt and Algeria, can also play an important role in diversifying gas supply to the UK and other EU member states.
	The UK's own security of gas supply has been improved in recent years by new import infrastructure projects such as the BBL (Netherlands-UK) and Langeled (from Norway) pipelines, expansion of the (Belgium-UK) IUK pipeline and the new LNG import terminal at the Isle of Grain. Two further major LNG import terminals at Milford Haven are expected to be commissioned soon.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the security of nuclear waste transported by rail in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The transportation of nuclear waste by rail is carried out in accordance with the national security regulations—the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR). The NISR is administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, who regulate such movements of nuclear waste and is kept fully informed of any relevant intelligence.
	The security of the transportation of nuclear material was reviewed following the events of 11 September 2001 and is regularly reviewed in light of changes to the prevailing threat. OCNS is satisfied that the measures in place to prevent theft or sabotage are adequately robust. In the event that a credible threat were detected, appropriate action would be taken.

Tidal Power: River Severn

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons seabed mounted marine turbines were not included as an option for consideration to meet requirements for renewable energy generation in the Severn estuary.

Mike O'Brien: A public call for Severn tidal power scheme proposals led to a long-list of 10 schemes including a proposal based on an array of seabed mounted marine turbines. All long-listed schemes have been investigated within the Severn tidal power feasibility study and an analysis, and recommended shortlist for further assessment, were published for public consultation last month. Proposals based on tidal stream turbines have not been recommended for shortlisting. This is because this technology is at such an early stage of development that detailed assessment is not possible. However, the Government are keen to see these technologies developed further so their potential can be better understood. Alongside existing funding for developing innovative technologies, my right Hon Friend the Secretary of State announced new funding of £500,000 for the development of embryonic proposals. This fund will run in parallel with the feasibility study and the development of these technologies will be reviewed before decisions are taken on whether to take forward a Severn power scheme.
	I expect to announce the final shortlist in the summer after consideration of comments and any further evidence submitted in response to the consultation. Copies of the consultation document are available in the Library of the House or at:
	http://severntidalpowerconsultation.decc.gov.uk
	The consultation closes on 23 April.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what IT security strategy his Department has in place; what steps are being taken to ensure the strategy is being followed; what policy is in place on the use of encryption when data are sent externally; and what sanctions are in place for use should the policy not be followed.

Angela Eagle: Following the publication of a National Information Assurance Strategy in June 2007, the Cabinet Office published a Security Policy Framework (SPF) for HM Government in December 2008, available at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/spf.aspx
	The SPF sets out a number mandatory measures that all Government Departments must have in place, including those for ensuring that its principles are being followed, and for the use of encryption of data sent externally.
	HM Treasury adheres to the IT security principles set out in this Framework. Any potential cases of the policy not being followed would be investigated, with sanctions taken in accordance with the Department's disciplinary procedures.

Valuation Office: Publications

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 14 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1630W, on Valuation Office: publications, whether the Valuation Office Agency has produced an in-house staff email bulletin or intranet equivalent since June 2007.

Stephen Timms: No.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics for what reason the necessity for alterations to  (a) the roof and  (b) the external wrap of the Olympic Stadium were not identified at an earlier stage in the Olympic budget process; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The decision to include the installation of the temporary structural enhancements required for the opening and closing ceremonies was taken in autumn 2008. This was done to reduce health and safety risks that would have arisen from doing this work after the main construction is complete, as was envisaged under the original plan. The detailed design of the stadium wrap is still being developed.

Israel: Anniversaries

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2136W, on Israel: anniversaries, whether he made a speech at the Israel Embassy's 60th anniversary reception; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 12 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2136W.

Official Residences

John Mason: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  which ministerial residences were  (a) occupied and  (b) vacant in each month since May 2005;
	(2)  how many ministerial residences have been  (a) sold and  (b) identified for sale since May 2005; and what steps the Government has taken to identify the notional rental value of each property.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, column 618W.

Africa: Human Rights

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the governments of  (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo and  (b) Rwanda on the serving of the International Criminal Court warrant on Bosco Ntganda; and whether MONVC has also been tasked to take part in such an operation.

Gillian Merron: The UK is strongly supportive of the International Criminal Court. We have reminded the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of its obligations in respect of the warrant for the arrest of Bosco Ntaganda. As far as we are aware, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has received no instructions to act on the warrant. We have not held specific discussions on the warrant with the government of Rwanda, which is not a party to the Rome Statute.

Departmental Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which external organisations his Department has engaged to provide training for fast stream civil service staff in the last three years; and how many civil servants in his Department have participated in provision of training for external organisations in that period.

Gillian Merron: The National School of Government, Centre for Political and Diplomatic Studies and Development Solutions provide training to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). New fast stream members of the FCO can also undertake a range of training in their first two years in the office, some of which may be delivered by external organisations.
	Some FCO civil servants speak to new entrants at training courses run by external organisations. They do as part of their role as serving FCO officers. We do not keep a central record of the number of FCO civil servants who have participated in this way and to obtain this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

Iran: Politics and Government

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to  (a) the government of Iran and  (b) the recent Iranian delegation to London comprising five members of the Iranian-British Parliamentary Group on the disputed sovereignty of the Abu Musa, Tunb and Lesser Tunb islands in the Strait of Hormuz; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Government have not made any representations to the government of Iran, nor to the recent delegation of five members of the Iranian Parliament to London, on the disputed sovereignty of the Abu Musa, Tunb and Lesser Tunb islands.
	The UK regards this dispute as a matter for resolution between the countries concerned.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the political situation in Gaza.

Bill Rammell: Our assessment is that the current situation in Gaza is very concerning. Mt right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary are in close touch with their counterparts working to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, column 604W, on the Middle East: armed conflict, what the reasons are for the Government's policy on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We assess all arms export applications on a case by case basis against the criteria covered by the EU Common Position on arms export controls which creates legal obligations on the UK to consider arms export licence applications in this way. We believe this provides a transparent, consistent and effective way to manage responsibly the export of arms from the UK. My right hon. Friend the late Robin Cook when Foreign Secretary explained in this House why we have adopted this policy in his response to my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) on 28 July 1997,  Official Report, column 26. My right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Hain), reiterated this explanation in his answer to the hon. Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) on 26 October 2000,  Official Report, column 199W.
	In assessing current license applications for Israel we take very carefully into account the recent conflict in the region. We will not authorise an export if to do so would be inconsistent with the criteria in the EU Common Position on arms export controls: this includes, for example, where there is a clear risk of exports being used either for internal repression or for external aggression the export licence is not granted.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of allegations that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam used the 48-hour time frame granted by the Sri Lankan government for safe passage for civilians to regroup and mount attacks on the Sri Lankan security forces.

Bill Rammell: The UK continues to have serious concerns about the humanitarian and security situation in northern Sri Lanka. The military hostilities and the lack of independent information coming out of the conflict area make it difficult to get accurate information. However, in spite of calls for a 48-hour ceasefire to allow civilians safe passage to government controlled areas, there is little evidence to suggest that there was any significant cessation of hostilities on the ground by either party. In addition, we are aware that a female suicide bomber blew herself up as she travelled with civilians fleeing the fighting while being checked by Sri Lanka government soldiers killing at least 29 people and injuring dozens more.

Departmental Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2024-5W, on redundancy, what estimate he has made of the annual payroll savings accruing to his Department as a result of staff exit schemes in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 , (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09 excluding the cost of severance packages; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Jonathan R Shaw: The savings for staff exit schemes are shown in the following table. Information on savings is not held on an in year basis but is calculated by taking into account the total salary savings up to ten years after the exit or when the member of staff reaches age 60, which ever is earlier.
	
		
			  Estimated savings 
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 540 
			 2006-07 240 
			 2007-08 320 
			 2008-09 25 
			  Note: 2008-09 figure is up to end of January 2009 
		
	
	Savings are calculated in line with normal Government accounting principles and are on a net present value basis.
	No estimates of savings have been made for 2009-10 and 2010-11 as latest workforce planning forecasts indicate there will be minimal, if any, use of exit schemes over these years.

Business Link

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff were employed by Business Link in each region in each year since Business Link was established.

Ian Pearson: The number of staff employed by Business Link in each region in each year for 2006-07 and 2007-08 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 North West 384 246 
			 North East 275 348 
			 Yorkshire 325 337 
			 East Midlands 168 178 
			 West Midlands 126 240 
			 East of England 175 200 
			 London 160 118 
			 South East 340 363 
			 South West 288 307 
			 Total 2,241 2,337 
		
	
	Staff numbers are shown as full-time equivalents employed by the Business Link provider(s) in each region. The number of staff employed includes all frontline staff, adviser support and back-office staff (in some instances this includes those delivering other programmes, for instance European funded programmes which are not BL branded).
	Business Link started in 1992 and has undergone two major rationalisations, in 1998 with the creation of the Small Business service and in 2007 when day-to-day management was devolved to the RDAs. Consequently, staffing data prior to 2007 is not available.

Departmental Databases

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Patrick McFadden: For the last 10 year's the Department's, and its predecessors, IT services have in the main been provided through a PFI agreement with Fujitsu Services and covers the provision of all desktop services, web infrastructure services, document management and other business database applications. As such the Department do not actually own any databases it uses but rather pays a service charge for maintenance and support of them. In the years in question the Department has paid, or is paying, the following for maintenance of its database services, (based on financial years of 1 April to 31 March):
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006 2.4 
			 2007 2.6 
			 2008 3.0 
		
	
	The variance in costs is accounted for by the end of some database services and the introduction of others, plus, where appropriate, agreed inflation increases.
	The above figures exclude databases used by the Energy Group, previously part of BERR but now part of DECC. The costs for their databases in the years in question are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006 l.0 
			 2007 1.0 
			 2008 1.5 
		
	
	The Department does not maintain central records of databases owned and managed by its agencies so i have approached the chief executives of The Insolvency Service and Companies House and they will respond to you directly.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 26 February 2009:
	I refer to your question (2008/1105), to ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, what the cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.
	I have been asked to reply for The Insolvency Service, which is an executive agency of that department.
	The cost of maintaining databases owned and managed by The Insolvency Service are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006/07 100,898 
			 2007/08 368,483 
			 2008/09 153,835 
		
	
	Please note that the costs are for Financial years, rather than calendar years and we have estimated the total cost of 2008/09.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 26 February 2009:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 5 February 2009, UIN 256138, to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	The cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by Companies House was as follows:
	
		
			  Year  Cost (£) 
			 2006 3,863,000 
			 2007 4,389,000 
			 2008 2,544,000

Pharmaceuticals

Andrew Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has had with representatives of the biopharmaceutical industry on the effects of the economic downturn on levels of innovation in their industry.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 11 February 2009
	I met various representatives of small and medium size biotechnology companies on 29 January 2009. A number of issues were raised concerning the current economic environment and its impact on the bioscience sector, although the issue of innovation was not specifically raised.
	On 27 January 2009, my noble Friend, the Minister for Economic Competitiveness and Small Business participated in a meeting of biopharmaceutical business leaders, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. The overarching aim of the meeting was to identify a long-term framework to help the UK maintain its world class bio-pharmaceutical industry, including measures to encourage research and reward innovation.

Small Businesses: Closures

Nigel Evans: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of small businesses which have closed in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) the UK in each of the last 12 weeks.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 22 January 2009
	Quarterly data on business closures are not available.
	Annual data on the number of enterprise closures for 2007 (latest data available) is published by the Office for National Statistics in the Business Demography publication, which is available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk= 15186&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422.

Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will increase the funding available under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.

Ian Pearson: The enterprise finance guarantee (EFG) was launched on 14 January 2009, replacing the small firms loan guarantee (SFLG).
	For further details on EFG I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend, Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs gave on 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1457W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Dr. Turner).

Care Proceedings: Fees and Charges

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average fee charged to local authorities on receipt of an application for care proceedings to the courts was in England and Wales in the latest period for which information is available.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 21 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1555W.
	The fee to issue an application under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 is fixed at £2,225. Two additional fees may be charged at a later stage of the process if the stages are required. A full list of fees for family proceedings is set out in the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008. This order came into force on 1 May 2008.

Civil Servants: Pay

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many bonus payments were made in 2007-08 to  (a) senior civil servants and  (b) other staff of (i) the Judicial Appointments Commission and (ii) the Office of the Public Guardian in 2007-08; and how much was paid in total.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) on 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 347W.

Cremation: Standards

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1291-92W, on Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, and the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Board on 25 February 2008, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the sub-group on guidance on memorial safety;
	(2)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1291-92W on Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, and the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Board on 25 October 2007, if he will place in the Library a copy of the completed survey data report undertaken in association with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health on the number and cost of local authority welfare funerals;
	(3)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1291-92W on Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, and the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Board on 23 March 2007, if he will place in the Library a copy of the opinion on memorial safety prepared by the Church of England Legal Advisory Commission and circulated to members of the Advisory Group;
	(4)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1291-92W, on the Department for Constitutional Affairs Cemetery and Burials Advisory Group, and the minutes of meetings of the Advisory Board of 9 March 2006, if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on memorial safety produced by Mr. Jon Wallsgrove for Coroners Division;
	(5)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of his Department's Burials and Cemeteries Advisory Group in the last 24 months.

Bridget Prentice: All agreed minutes of the Advisory Group meetings are already available from the Library. The draft minutes of the last meeting in October 2008 will be considered next month and, once agreed, a copy will be provided for the Library. I am also arranging for copies of the minutes of the meetings of the memorial safety sub group to be placed in the Library, together with copies of the other material requested.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what procedures are in place governing consultation by electoral registration officers of other  (a) local and  (b) central Government databases for the purposes of (i) cross-checking and (ii) augmenting their preparation of electoral registers;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to amend data protection legislation to allow local and national authorities to share information in order to increase voter registration.

Michael Wills: As my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice) explained in answer to a similar question from my hon. Friend on 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 242W, relating to the use of databases, Electoral Registration Officers (ERO) are required to take all steps that are necessary for the purpose of complying with their duty to maintain the electoral registers, and these steps include inspecting any record which the ERO is permitted to inspect by law.
	Assisting EROs in meeting their obligations falls within the Electoral Commission's remit, as does issuing guidance to EROs more generally.
	The Electoral Commission has issued guidance to EROs encouraging them to use the power to inspect records and advises of the sources that may be inspected, which will help to provide and cross-check additional information to assist them in their registration duties.
	The Government remain concerned about the need to address levels of under-registration in Great Britain and is currently considering what further steps can be taken to increase access to national databases by EROs, involving local and public authorities could be established for this purpose.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will issue guidance to local authorities on increasing the rate of voter registration; and if he will produce a league table to indicate each local authority's performance in increasing the rate of voter registration in their area;
	(2)  if he will publish the guidelines his Department issues to electoral registration officers on home visits to electors who have not registered to vote; and what assessment he has made of the level of local authority compliance with such guidelines;
	(3)  what steps his Department has taken to encourage illiterate and semi-literate electors to register to vote;
	(4)  what progress has been made on increasing electoral registration rates;
	(5)  what performance indicators were set for each stage of electoral registration in each local authority area in each of the last 12 years; and what the performance of each authority against these indicators was.

Michael Wills: As my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice) explained in answer to similar questions from the hon. Member on 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1001W), responsibility for issuing guidance to electoral registration officers (EROs) on electoral registration lies with the Electoral Commission. Guidance issued offers suggestions on increasing registration rates amongst under-represented groups, such as electors with learning difficulties or low levels of literacy. In addition, the guidance advises on the activities that EROs must undertake to meet section 9 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006, which placed a new duty on them to take all necessary steps to maintain the electoral register, including sending the annual canvass form more than once and making house visits.
	The number of people registered to vote in Great Britain as reported by the Office for National Statistics is increasing. Following the 2007 annual canvass the number of parliamentary electors grew by 307,669 to 45,082,854; and the number of local government electors grew by 463,340 to 45,920,503. The Office for National Statistics is expected to publish figures for the 2008 annual canvass by the end of February 2009.
	The Government have no current plans to produce a league table of electoral registration officers' performance. However, the performance standards framework established by the Electoral Administration Act 2006 will allow the collection of data on the performance and activities of electoral administrators, including EROs.
	The Electoral Commission published a final set of performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers in Great Britain in July 2008, details of which have been laid before the House. One of the standards will provide information on the use of house to house inquiries and canvassers by administrators. The Commission will publish the results of EROs' self-assessments against all of the standards in spring 2009.
	The Government are not aware of national indicators being previously set in the last 12 years.

Prisons: Manpower

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers at each grade there were in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the likely numbers at each grade in the next 12 months.

Shahid Malik: Information on the number of officers in each establishment, by grade, in each year since 2005 and projections of the number of officers in March 2010 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Disadvantaged: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the score of each of the lower layer super output areas in each principal seaside town in England was in each domain of the index of multiple deprivation for  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2007, ranked from highest to lowest in each year.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House, a table which lists the score and rank of each of the Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs)—for each domain of the Indices of Deprivation—in the local authority districts which contain the principal seaside towns. This table provides the data for 2004 and 2007, and also identifies the ward in which each LSOA is located.

Eco-Towns: Publicity

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1142W, on eco-towns: finance, how much expenditure has been incurred on each  (a) exhibition and  (b) road show on eco-towns.

Iain Wright: The total cost of exhibition and roadshow activity incurred to date by the Department is £369,568.90. It is not possible to provide individual costs for each event as a substantial proportion of the costs relate to the management and production of the event programme as a whole.

Fire Services: Working Hours

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on flex-duty fire brigade officers of the proposed ending of the opt-out from the EU Working Time Directive.

Sadiq Khan: Although arrangements vary across the Fire and Rescue Service, typically officers on the flexible duty, system are required to work a weekly average of no more than 42 positive managerial hours; and to provide standby cover on an on-call basis which should average not more than 36 hours per week.
	The amendments voted by the European Parliament in December to end opt-outs from the working time directive's 48-hour weekly maximum; and to the treatment of inactive on-call time as working time could, taken together, have a substantial impact on FRS officers working the flexible duty system. The UK therefore places great importance on retaining the opt-out and other flexibilities agreed by the Council of Ministers in June and will continue to defend them.

Members: Correspondence

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to reply to the letter of 12 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

Sadiq Khan: The right hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) replied to the hon. Member on 19 February 2009.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to the letter of 19 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Billericay on business rates.

Sadiq Khan: The right hon.. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) replied to the hon. Member on 20 February 2009.

Non-Domestic Rates: Business

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the new empty property business rates on local economies and local firms.

John Healey: An Impact Assessment detailing the impact of the empty property reforms was published by Communities and Local Government in May 2007 accompanying the introduction of the Rating (Empty Properties) Bill and a further assessment was laid before this House on 26 February accompanying the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (England) Regulations 2008—Number:386.

Non-Domestic Rates: Business

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the average administrative cost to businesses of applying for small business rate relief.

John Healey: No such estimate has been made. However, a regulatory impact assessment detailing the impact of the small business rate relief (SBRR) scheme was published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in January 2005 accompanying the introduction of the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (England) Order 2004—Number. 3315—and a further assessment was laid before the House by Communities and Local Government on the 23 August accompanying the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (Amendment) (England) Order 2006—Number: 2313.

Non-Domestic Rates: Business

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the level of small business rate relief supplements is calculated.

John Healey: The small business rate relief scheme is a self financing scheme, funded by a supplement paid by businesses that do not meet the eligibility criteria. The level of the supplement in 2009-10 was calculated using information supplied by local authorities from their national non domestic rates returns submitted to the Department about the cost of the small business rate relief scheme in previous years. A further estimate was made about the cost of the amendment to the scheme which comes into effect on 1 April 2009, allowing occupants of new properties that join the rating list during the financial year to claim relief. The value of the supplement is based on these estimates and a forecast of the number and aggregate value of properties that are able to fund the scheme.

Non-Domestic Rates: Business

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to her Department's statistical release of 17 May 2007 on national non-domestic rates to be collected by local authorities in England 2007-08, how the excess in small business rate supplements collected in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07 was spent.

John Healey: The small business rate relief scheme is a self financing scheme, funded by a supplement paid by larger businesses that do not meet the eligibility criteria.
	The supplement is adjusted each year to take account of the amount of revenue required to fund the scheme and can also be adjusted to ensure that over the lifetime of the scheme the relief is self financing. In years 2007-08 and 2008-09 the supplement was set at a lower rate than the costs in those years to meet the aim that large businesses do not over fund the scheme.
	All non-domestic rate revenues collected are redistributed back to local authorities as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the amount paid in non-domestic rates by port businesses in each year from 2003 via the cumulo system.

John Healey: This information is not collected by Communities and Local Government.
	Any contractual agreement for payment of non domestic rates on behalf of port businesses is a matter between them and their port operator.

Defence: Procurement

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the A400M programme was from the  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL at 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007 and (viii) 2008.

Quentin Davies: The information the hon. Member requested is shown in the following table, which includes the cost of the assessment, demonstration and manufacture costs.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 As at 31 March: Direct   resource RDEL Indirect   resource DEL Capital   DEL Total 
			 2001 1 158 2474 2633 
			 2002 34 145 2177 2356 
			 2003 28 296 2160 2484 
			 2004 16 187 2416 2619 
			 2005 16 180 2448 2644 
			 2006 23 181 2412 2616 
			 2007 24 171 2434 2629 
			 2008 34 171 2427 2632

Defence: Procurement

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile Integrated Project Team programme was from the  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL at 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007 and (viii) 2008.

Quentin Davies: The information requested is shown in the following table The figures include the cost of the assessment phase and demonstration and manufacture phases.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Direct Resource RDEL  Indirect Resource DEL  Capital DEL  Total 
			 31 March 2001 (1)— (1)— (1)— 1,382 
			 31 March 2002 20 206 1,191 1,417 
			 31 March 2003 20 219 1,198 1,437 
			 31 March 2004 20 116 1,239 1,375 
			 31 March 2005 20 107 1,097 1,224 
			 31 March 2006 20 104 1,100 1,224 
			 31 March 2007 20 124 1,044 1,188 
			 31 March 2008 20 176 1,103 1,299 
			 (1 )Breakdown not available

Defence: Procurement

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Future Joint Combat Aircraft programme was from  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL at 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007 and (viii) 2008.

Quentin Davies: The information requested is shown in the following table. The figures include the cost of the assessment and demonstration phases. JCA has a tailored Main Gate for Demonstration only and approval was for CDEL only. Assessment phase included as RDEL
	
		
			   31 March 2001  31 March 2002  31 March 2003  31 March 2004  31 March 2005  31 March 2006  31 March 2007  31 March 2008 
			 Direct Resource RDEL (1)— 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 
			 Indirect Resource DEL (1)— 311 306 194 239 239 287 283 
			 Capital DEL (1)— 2,021 2,021 2,378 1,675 1,677 1,571 1,551 
			 Total 2,380 2,476 2,471 (2)2,716 2,058 2,060 2,002 1,978 
			 (1 )Breakdown not available. (2 )Due to rounding, the figure does not exactly equal the overall total programme cost published in the Major Project report of the year in question.

Ex-servicemen: Offenders

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) plans to undertake on (i) the factors associated with offending by former members of the armed forces and (ii) the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst such offenders.

Kevan Jones: In concert with the Ministry of Justice the Ministry of Defence plans to conduct research this year on the proportion of veterans in the prison population using data provided by the Ministry of Justice. We also aim to conduct research on offending among those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan linked to our existing health research on this cohort which includes mental health aspects such as post traumatic stress disorder.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many equipment failure reports have been received in respect of armoured vehicles during  (a) operations in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan and  (b) training in each of the last 12 months, broken down by vehicle type.

Quentin Davies: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Equipment failure reports 
			   2008  2009 
			  Vehicle  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan 
			  Iraq 
			 Bulldog 29 15 14 10 13 12 1 30 0 13 6 11 
			 Challenger 2 37 10 8 10 0 7 13 8 31 37 0 27 
			 Titan (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Trojan (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 CVR(T) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Mastiff 22 7 8 18 7 2 22 32 14 9 12 70 
			 Saxon (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Vector 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 24 0 19 3 9 
			 Warrior 65 24 29 88 11 10 14 26 12 32 6 12 
			  Afghanistan 
			 Bulldog (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Challenger 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Titan (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Trojan (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 CVR(T) 6 0 59 6 30 42 76 2 53 2 0 25 
			 Mastiff 17 0 5 22 2 7 0 0 6 0 13 2 
			 Saxon 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Vector 35 14 1 4 3 0 1 9 3 1 0 8 
			 Warrior 5 35 2 1 3 3 11 10 4 0 1 5 
			  Other 
			 Bulldog 4 6 3 28 8 11 35 7 6 12 1 4 
			 Challenger 2 124 85 58 100 113 94 133 82 166 89 92 73 
			 Titan 9 19 38 91 73 3 35 17 13 16 8 10 
			 Trojan 9 8 13 93 43 4 71 19 28 57 118 50 
			 CVR(T) 46 9 37 24 28 43 10 50 28 41 6 38 
			 Mastiff 25 1 5 8 2 0 0 17 3 2 7 3 
			 Saxon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Vector 0 2 1 0 1 1 3 2 7 2 1 0 
			 Warrior 30 33 15 11 22 16 12 58 36 38 30 28 
			 (1) Not deployed 
		
	
	The equipment failure reporting system (EFRS) is the mandated system for equipment users to report failures, such as accidental damage, maintenance related failures and breakdowns, or the failure of an item fitted to the vehicle. It does not incorporate the results of subsequent investigations and therefore does not differentiate between what might later prove to have been a problem caused by operator error or damage sustained as a result of operations. Nor does this data record the severity of a failure which might have no discernible impact on operational capability or safety. It is not possible using EFRs to distinguish how many of the EFRs in the 'Others' section were as a result of training, and some of the EFRs raised in Iraq and Afghanistan may have been during in theatre training rather than during the conduct of operations.

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from which  (a) duties and  (b) obligations imposed on maintained schools and their employees some or all academies are exempt; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: It is not only education law which applies to maintained schools and their employees. There is a wide range of legislation which applies to such schools to a lesser or greater extent. It would therefore be a massive, and ongoing, task for the Department to compile such a list, and to try to establish it would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Academies are accountable through their funding agreements and legislation. This includes duties under equalities, procurement, employment and health and safety law; all of which are applied to maintained schools in the same way.
	Nevertheless, in relation to education law, the regulatory framework applied to academies is lighter-touch than the framework applied to maintained schools. This is because we wish to give academies flexibility in the way they are run in many areas—e.g. curriculum content and delivery (although, since 2007 all new academies have to follow the national curriculum for English, Maths, Science and ICT), organisation of the school day, pay and conditions of teachers—in order to help break through entrenched educational failure and low aspiration. Through offering innovative solutions towards tackling educational under-achievement academies are making significant strides towards improving the attainment of children within our most educationally disadvantaged communities. In 2008, the 36 academies which have been open long enough to have results in both 2007 and 2008 have seen an increase of 11.5 per cent. in the number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent. This is more than twice the otherwise impressive increase of 4.6 per cent. seen nationally.
	Copies of our model funding agreement documentation and a list of some of the key legislative requirements on academies have been placed in the Libraries to illustrate how academies are held to account. Copies of open academies' funding agreements can be viewed on the DCSF FOI website
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/foischeme/subPage.cfm?action= collections.displayCollection&icollectionID=190

Care Proceedings

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he takes to monitor the activity of local authorities in respect of care proceedings in each year.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities are responsible for initiating care proceedings based on their assessment in each specific case as to the likelihood of children facing significant harm attributable to the care provided by their parents.
	The Department collects data from local authorities via annual returns once children have become looked after which includes care orders, placement orders and emergency protection orders. The Department also receives data on the level of care applications via the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what contingency arrangements his Department has made to be invoked in circumstances where a child's ContactPoint data have been  (a) compromised and  (b) made public.

Beverley Hughes: ContactPoint is designed, built, operated and managed to HM Government standards for security and complies with the strict controls imposed by HM Government security policy. Data contained within the system is made available only to those authorised users and administrators who have been subject to vetting and have completed mandatory training.
	The ContactPoint system and access to it is constantly monitored. Suspicious network activity is checked and, if the system was thought to be under any form of threat or, if unauthorised access to ContactPoint was detected, the system would be immediately shut down and access denied to all users. Unauthorised or improper access to ContactPoint is treated as the highest priority, requiring immediate response and action by both my Department and the system supplier. Access to the system would not be restored until my Department had been assured that the source of attack or unauthorised or improper access had been located and any mitigating actions had been taken. Following an incident of this type, a full review would take place and prosecutions would be instigated where appropriate.
	Where it was suspected that a child's record had been compromised, the individual (or their parent/carer as appropriate), practitioners or organisations working with them would be contacted to ensure that any necessary safeguarding/child protection procedures were initiated.
	In the case of any breach of the system we would also inform the Information Commissioner's Office.

Children: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1062W, on children: daycare, how much his Department is spending on  (a) increasing awareness of the ban on physical punishment of children in childcare settings and  (b) making parenting classes more widely available in 2008-09.

Beverley Hughes: Under the Childcare Act 2006 local authorities are responsible for supporting the training needs of early years providers, and the Department for Children Schools and Families is providing £440 million to local authorities over the period 2008-11 within the Outcomes, Quality and Inclusion block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant to help them fulfil this responsibility. Local authorities have discretion to spend this funding in line with their own particular needs and circumstances, to ensure that the specific training needs of early years staff in each area are met. Initial training and continuing professional development courses for child care practitioners include coverage of behaviour management and child protection issues. This may include training to increase awareness of the ban on physical punishment in child care settings. In addition the DCSF spent £7.5 million each year from 2006 to 2009 to support specific Early Years Foundation Stage training on effective practice without the use of physical punishment.
	The Department is providing £8.67 million in 2008-09 for the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners to deliver a combination of research and training to support and develop the parenting workforce. We expect this to bring about a significant change in the supply and quality of the parenting support offered to parents, including increased availability of parenting classes.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many claims for education maintenance allowance received for the 2008-09 academic year were not in payment on 31 January 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Yeovil with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.

Foster Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children from Northern Ireland were fostered in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many children from Wales were fostered in Scotland in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many children from Scotland were fostered in Wales in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many children from Wales were fostered in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how many children from Scotland were fostered in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997;
	(6)  how many children from England were fostered in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of children from Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland who were fostered in either England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland is not collected centrally by the Department.
	There were 59,500 looked after children in England at 31 March 2008, of which 42,300 were in foster placements. In total 540 of the children looked after by English local authorities at 31 March 2008 were in placements outside England and 370 of these were in foster placements, this includes those in placements in Northern Ireland. These figures exclude those children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.

GCE A-Level: Standards

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of standards at A-level; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of a recalibration of the standards of A-levels.

Jim Knight: The responsibility for ensuring that rigorous standards are maintained over time in A levels rests with the independent regulator, Ofqual. A levels are internationally respected qualifications and claims that they have got easier have been investigated and refuted on numerous occasions. A levels have recently been strengthened further to include additional stretch and challenge for the brightest students and the introduction of an A* grade.
	The Government have made no assessment of the merits of a "recalibration" of A levels, which would only be appropriate if we were to change the purpose of the qualification. We have already announced that we will review A levels in 2013, and can consider any such issues, in consultation with Ofqual, at that time.

Schools: Closures

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many small schools in each local education authority area have closed in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The number of small schools in each local education authority in England that have ceased to be maintained between 2002 and 2008 is shown in the following tables, broken down by primary, secondary and middle deemed secondary schools. Information on school size was not routinely collected prior to 2002.
	
		
			  Number of small( 1)  primary schools ceased to be maintained since 2002 
			  Local authority  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Barnsley — — — — — 1  1 
			 Bath and North East Somerset — — — 2 — — — 2 
			 Bedfordshire — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Bolton 1  — — — 1 1 3 
			 Bury — 2 — — — — — 2 
			 Cheshire — 1 1 — 1 — 3 6 
			 Cornwall — — 1 — — 1 — 2 
			 Cumbria — — 2 1 1 — 1 5 
			 Derby, City of — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Derbyshire — — — — — 1 2 3 
			 Devon — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Dudley — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Durham — — — — — — 1 1 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1 1 1 — — — — 3 
			 Gloucestershire — — — — — 1 1 2 
			 Hackney — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Hampshire — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Herefordshire 1 — — 1 — 1  3 
			 Hertfordshire — 2 — — — — — 2 
			 Kent — 1 — — 1 4 1 7 
			 Lincolnshire — — 1 1 1 1 — 4 
			 Liverpool — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Manchester — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 North Somerset  1 — — — — — 1 
			 North Yorkshire — — — — 1 2 1 4 
			 Northamptonshire — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Northumberland — 1 — 3 — — 1 5 
			 Nottingham, City of — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — — — 1 1 2 
			 Oxfordshire — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Sefton 1 — — 1 — — — 2 
			 Shropshire 1 — — — — — 1 2 
			 Somerset — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Staffordshire — — — — 2 1 1 4 
			 Suffolk — — 1 — — — 1 2 
			 Surrey — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 West Sussex — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Wigan — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Wiltshire — — 2 2 1 2 — 7 
			 Wirral — — — — — 1 1 2 
			 Wolverhampton 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Worcestershire — 1 — — — — 1 2 
			 Total 6 14 9 12 11 22 21 95 
			 (1) Small Primary = Less than 100 pupils 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of small( 1)  secondary schools ceased to be maintained since 2002 
			  Local authority  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Barnet — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Birmingham 1 — — — — 1 — 2 
			 Brighton and Hove — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Bristol, City of 1 — 1 1 — — — 3 
			 Bromley — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Cheshire — — — — 1  — 1 
			 Croydon — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Cumbria — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Essex — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1— — — 1 
			 Kent 1 — — —— — — — 1 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull, — — — — 1 — — 1 
			 Leeds — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Liverpool — — — — — 1  1 
			 Middlesbrough 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Newcastle 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Nottingham, City of 1 1 — — — — — 2 
			 Nottinghamshire — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Oxfordshire — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Plymouth, City of 1 — — — — — 1 2 
			 Sefton — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 St Helens 1 — —  1 — — 2 
			 Staffordshire — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Walsall  — —  1 — — 1 
			 Warwickshire — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Wigan — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Wirral 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Total 10 3 2 4 4 6 4 33 
			 (1) Small Secondary = Less than 600 pupils 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of small( 1)  middle deemed secondary schools ceased to be maintained since 2002 
			  Local authority  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 Newcastle — — 1 3 — — — 4 
			 Northamptonshire — — 13 — — — — 13 
			 Northumberland — — 1 — 1 — — 2 
			 Oxfordshire — 8 — — — — — 8 
			 Wiltshire — — 1 3 — — — 4 
			 Worcestershire —  1 — — — 1 2 
			 Total — 8 17 6 1 — 1 33 
			 (1) Small Secondary = Less than 600 pupils 
		
	
	—continued

Secondary Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which schools which were part of the National Challenge in 2008 did not receive any additional funding as part of the programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which schools achieved less than 30 per cent. of pupils achieving five GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2007 and have not received any additional funding through the National Challenge; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Schools in 2007 or 2008 where fewer than 30 per cent. of the pupils achieved five GCSEs at A* to C grade or equivalent, including GCSEs in English and mathematics receive support from a range of sources. If they are in London, the Black Country or Greater Manchester any support will come from the City Challenge programmes. In the rest of the country, support is provided by the National Challenge. All schools which become academies receive support from the Academies programme.
	The support for all these schools is a mix of funding to local authorities and schools, together with support in kind. Some schools which were below the floor target in 2007 or 2008 are not receiving any of this additional support. They are listed in the following tables together with the reasons for this. In the vast majority of cases it is because they have moved above the floor target and are on a sustainable path of further improvement. In these cases there was local agreement that they did not need this additional support.
	
		
			  Schools below the floor target based on 2007 results which are not receiving additional support 
			  School  Local authority  Reason why the school is not receiving support 
			 The Ravenscroft School a Technology College Barnet The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Witton Park High School Blackburn with Darwen The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 The Beaconsfield School Buckinghamshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Halifax High at Wellesley Park Calderdale The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Todmorden High School Calderdale The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Solway Community Technology College Cumbria The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Longfield School Darlington The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Aldercar Community Language College Derbyshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Isca College of Media Arts Devon The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Danum School Technology College Doncaster The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Dormers Wells High School Ealing The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 West London Academy Ealing The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Chalvedon School Essex The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Debden Park High School Essex The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Mark Hall School Essex The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Central Technology College Gloucestershire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 St. Thomas More Catholic School Haringey The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Cheshunt School Hertfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Hertswood School Hertfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 St. Mary's High School (VA) Hertfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Westfield Community Technology College Hertfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Mellow Lane School Hillingdon The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 The Leigh Technology Academy Kent The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Chessington Community College Kingston upon Thames The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Coombe Boys' School Kingston upon Thames The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Central Lancaster High School Lancashire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Marsden Heights Community College Lancashire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Moor Park Business and Enterprise School Lancashire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Walton le Dale Arts College and High School Lancashire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 King Edward VI Humanities College Lincolnshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 St. Hugh's C of E Mathematics and Computing College Lincolnshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 The Giles School Lincolnshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 St. Peter's RC High School Manchester The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Greenacre School Medway The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Harris Academy Merton Merton The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 The Kingswood School Northamptonshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Henry Mellish School and Sports College Nottingham The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Serlby Park A 3-18 Business and Enterprise Learning Community Nottinghamshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Banbury School Oxfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 St. Gregory the Great VA Catholic Secondary School Oxfordshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Carter Community School Poole The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 The Grange School Shropshire The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Sandhill View School Sunderland The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Thornhill School Sunderland The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 De Stafford School Surrey The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 King's Manor Community College West Sussex The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Paddington Academy Westminster The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Coppice Performing Arts School Wolverhampton The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Wednesfield High School Wolverhampton The school has moved above the floor target and is expected to continue improving 
			 Brookfield High School Knowsley Has merged with another school. The merged school is supported. 
			 Ruffwood School Knowsley Has merged with another school. The merged school is supported. 
			 St. Edmund of Canterbury Catholic High School Knowsley Has merged with another school. The merged school is supported. 
			 The Newark High School Nottinghamshire Has merged with another school. The merged school is supported. 
			 Tulketh Community Sports College Lancashire Has merged with another school. The merged school is above the floor target and due to become an academy. 
			 Selhurst Mathematics and Computing Specialist School Croydon The school has closed 
			 Lochinvar School Cumbria The school has closed 
			 The Brays Grove Community School Essex The school has closed 
			 The Western Technology School North East Lincolnshire The school has closed 
			 Parkside Community College Plymouth The school has closed 
			 Stamford High School Tameside The school has closed 
			 The Ridings School Calderdale The school is due to close on 31 August 2009 
			 Haywood School Nottingham The school is due to close on 31 August 2009 
		
	
	
		
			  Schools below the floor target based on 2008 results which are not receiving additional support 
			  School  Local authority  Reason why the school is not receiving support 
			 The Ridings School Calderdale The school is due to close on 31 August 2009 
			 Haywood School Nottingham The school is due to close on 31 August 2009 
			 Ryeish Green School Wokingham The school is due to close on 31 August 2010

Work Experience: Accidents

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school children were injured whilst at work in England in each of the last four years.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Injuries to workers( 1)  (aged under 16 years) by employment status as reported to all enforcing authorities( 2) , 2004-05 to 2007 - 08( 3) 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 4)  2007- 08  Total 
			  Employee( 5)  
			 Fatal — — — 1 1 
			 Major 12 17 18 5 52 
			 Over-3-day 15 20 8 11 54 
			 Total 27 37 26 17 107 
			   
			  Work experience( 5)  
			 Fatal — — — — 0 
			 Major 13 10 12 9 44 
			 Over-3-day 4 8 20 6 38 
			 Total 17 18 32 15 82 
			   
			  Trainee( 5)  
			 Fatal — — — — 0 
			 Major 1 1 — — 2 
			 Over-3-day 2 1 — 1 4 
			 Total 3 2 0 1 6 
			   
			  Total  
			 Fatal — — — 1 1 
			 Major 26 28 30 14 98 
			 Over-3-day 21 29 29 18 97 
			 Total 47 57 59 33 196 
			 (1) Employees and the self-employed. In the period shown there were no reported injuries to self-employed people aged under 16 years. (2) Injuries are reported and defined under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. The information available under RIDDOR 95 includes three categories of severity to workers: fatal injuries, defined major injuries and other injuries leading to more than three days absence (over-3-day). (3) The annual basis is the planning year 1 April to 31 March. (4) Includes one major and one over-3-day injury with employment status employed by someone else. (5) Data for workers 2006-07 onwards excludes RI incidents, however these are included in the total, therefore breakdown may not match the workers total.  Source: HSE figures for Under 16s at work